Knicks older but with new energy
Re-energized ’Melo leads revamped Knicks’ resurgence
With addition of 3 veteran guards, Carmelo Anthony finds new motivation,
Carmelo Anthony hustled back on defense, blocking Nick Young’s fast-break layup attempt, and the ball bounced toward the Philadelphia 76ers bench, headed out of bounds.
Instead of watching that happen, Anthony chased down the ball, jumping over the Sixers bench and into the first row trying to save it. Carmelo Anthony? “Just trying to lead the pack in other areas other than scoring,” he said. “I’m just trying to do the little things and make the team better. That’s it. Everybody in the world knows I can score the basketball with the best of them. Forme to come out and do things other than score, it makes us a better team.”
Re-energized by new teammates— especially a trio of savvy, veteran guards— Anthony has led the Knicks to a 3-0 record, with strong wins against conference and division opponents. The Knicks got older, not younger, letting Jeremy Lin go in free agency and adding guard Jason Kidd, center Marcus Camby and forward Kurt Thomas. Star forward Amar’e Stoudemire still is not playing after knee surgery.
Yet they have defeated the defending NBA champion Miami Heat and
opened with three wins in a row for the first time since 1999-2000. “We know what kind of guys we have on this team. We know what’s at stake, and we want to win,” Anthony said.
And they are doing it convincingly, winning each game by double-digit margins for the first time in franchise history, off strong defense and fluid offense.
New York is the first team since Knicks coach Mike Woodson’s 200809 Atlanta Hawks to give up fewer than 90 points in each of its first three games.
The Knicks have made 43 threepointers, the most for any team in the opening three games. They are doing this after the destruction, transportation and power nightmares after superstorm Sandy, making Madison Square Garden a place for New Yorkers to take their minds off their troubles for a few hours.
Anthony is starting at power forward, and it’s possible Stoudemire will come off the bench when he returns, which is at least another five weeks. That would make the team even deeper.
Stoudemire and Anthony say there are no chemistry issues when they are on the court together, but it hasn’t been the dynamic force expected from two gifted offensive players. How will Stoudemire’s return affect the Knicks?
They don’t want to address that now; no distractions during a hot start. Woodson has said he will deal with it when Stoudemire returns.
“I just think the (Tyson) Chandler-Stoudemire-Anthony front line makes the court a little bit more crowded,” ABC/ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy said. “When you play Carmelo at the four (power forward) with Chandler and three other perimeter players, they just have so much more space for shooting on the floor that it makes the game easier. That’s in no way to diminish Stoudemire’s play. I see them playing in a three-man rotation with Chandler, Stoudemire and Anthony at the four and five (center).”
Anthony, averaging 26 points and 7.3 rebounds, has starred at both ends. The difference in his game is noticeable.
“He’s very motivated right now,” said Chandler, the Knicks center. “I’ve only been around him two years, but this is the most motivated I’ve seen him. He’s done an excellent job — not just what you guys have seen, but in practice and film (sessions) and walk-throughs. He’s getting there early. I see him putting up shots afterward and taking guys to the side. He’s been a great teammate, and he wants to win.” Woodson is not surprised. “Melo was great for us last year. He made guys who hadn’t played a lot of minutes in this league better based on how he played,” Woodson told USA TODAY Sports. “This year, he has a veteran group of guys, and he doesn’t have to do as much. He can pick and choose when he wants to be ’Melo based on all the surrounding pieces we put together.”
NEW CAST OF CHARACTERS
New York overhauled a significant portion of its roster. Several players from last season’s 36-30 seventhseeded team remain — Anthony, Chandler, Stoudemire, guard J.R. Smith, forward Steve Novak and guard Iman Shumpert (out while recovering from a torn knee ligament).
Joining Kidd in the backcourt are Raymond Felton (in a return to New York) and Argentinean Pablo Prigioni; newcomers in the frontcourt with Camby and Thomas are small forward Ronnie Brewer and power forward Rasheed Wallace, who hadn’t played since 2009-10.
Coach Doc Rivers of the division rival Boston Celtics understood what the Knicks did with their roster, the oldest in the league with an average age of 31 years, 226 days.
“New York is better— a whole year with (Woodson) and just all the new guys, or the new old guys, that they added,” Rivers said.
“But I think they added smart guys. I think their basketball IQ tripled. That makes them better.”
It starts with the point guards — a future Hall of Famer in Kidd, still capable of playing at a high level at 39; Felton, revitalized after a seasonand-a-half with the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers; and Prigioni, an NBA rookie at 35 but a star for years in Spain’s pro league.
The three guards are averaging a combined 14 assists, and Smith is averaging 4.3. The ball movement has been fantastic, so much so that the Knicks are not only making the extra pass, they also are making the extra, extra pass. They sometimes pass up shots Woodson wants players to take.
Felton can score and pass; Kidd is a prototypical, old school, pass-first point guard, and Prigioni is similar to Kidd and not worried about scoring.
“It’s huge, because it’s three veteran point guards who know how to play. They’re different in their own ways,” Woodson said. “The players who play around them love them because they know they’re a pass-first, shoot-second type of player — all three — so they’re making players around them much better and happy.”
NOT MISSING EX-TEAMMATES
The Knicks also think they are better because of the players they don’t have.
New York made a competitive and financial decision, choosing not to match restricted free agent offer sheets to Lin (now with the Houston Rockets) and guard Landry Fields (now with the Toronto Raptors). There’s no question Woodson likes veterans, and his faith in them has filtered to Anthony.
“He trusts the guys we’ve assembled on this team,” Woodson said.
Anthony is comfortable with Felton, Kidd and Prigioni running the offense and respects all three. He realizes he doesn’t have to carry the entire load. He understands the guards will get him the ball in the right position. And Anthony has shown a willingness to pass the ball out of the double-team and rely on others.
“Guys like myself and J.R., we don’t have to bring the ball up the court,” Anthony said. “We can just space out, run our plays. A lot of times out there now we are very focused on our execution, running our offense and doing the right things. It’s been paying off for everybody.”
That comfort level wasn’t always present last season, and it showed with dramatic swings in the team’s play.
It has been a multistep process to get where Anthony is today.
Anthony told USA TODAY Sports just before his participation with the U.S. basketball team at the London Olympics he understood criticism comes with the job of being a Knicks All-Star.
“I wanted to prove a point this summer. I can and am willing to do whatever it takes, whether it’s with the Knicks or Team USA,” he said.
Anthony has lost 12 pounds (he’s listed at 230) and appears as strong as ever. He took some time off after the Olympics, then began working out with Knicks players about a month before training camp began.
“What I’m seeing more than anything, he’s defending at a high rate,” Woodson said. “We had an opportunity this year where we didn’t last year (with the extended lockout) to be able to practice and teach and coach.
“Melo is a smart player. He’s right in tune with what we want done — and we’re playing better for it.”